Singing in the Lane
Elizabeth Tidd saddled up at the Fourth Avenue parking structure after attending the first organizational meeting for an Ann Arbor Bike Choir.
The idea crystallized for Susan Zielinski 16 years ago, when she was was riding her bike through traffic in Toronto, trying to keep Beethoven’s ninth symphony in her mind as the incessant traffic noises threatened to drive it out.
“What I need,” she thought, “is 20 people riding with me, singing in four-part harmony to drown out the sound of the traffic.”
To humor her, a handful of her friends planned what they thought would be a one-time bike chorale performance during Toronto’s bike week. They called themselves Song Cycles – the Choir on Bikes.
CBC radio called for an interview before they’d even had a rehearsal, and minor celebrity ensued.
Zielinski moved to Ann Arbor three years ago to work on a sustainable transportation project at the University of Michigan, and with the help of Michigan Peaceworks executive director Laura Russello, she’s once again at the hub of a burgeoning bike choir. [Full Story]